Dictionary

pull in one's horns en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio

Etymology

In reference to the behaviour of a snail when it is threatened.

Meanings

1. (idiomatic) To become less impassioned, aggressive, or argumentative; to exercise restraint; to yield or capitulate.
   • Anyone else would have pulled in his horns and gone slow for a spell, but he's one of those fellows whose horse is always going to win the next race. 1912, P. G. Wodehouse, chapter 14, in The Adventures of Sally:
   • "I see Cooky's finish," I heard Smoke say to Horner. "You bet," was the reply. "Hump runs the galley from now on, and Cooky pulls in his horns." 1904, Jack London, chapter 9, in The Sea-Wolf (Macmillan’s Standard Library), New York, N.Y.: Grosset & Dunlap, →OCLC:
   • Barry . . . stood, during this tirade, half stupefied with rage, and half frightened, at the open attack made on him. . . . However, he couldn't pull in his horns now, and he was obliged, in self-defence, to brazen it out. 1848, Anthony Trollope, chapter 7, in The Kellys and the O'Kellys:
   • Editor & Publisher Edwin Palmer Hoyt decided to pull in his horns. Said Hoyt: "We've decided it is time to pause, recapitulate and prepare to recommence." 1950 October 30, “The Press: Time to Pause”, in Time:
   • "Smaller hardware stores in the area were scared," he said. "They stopped making investments. They pulled in their horns." 2003 April 6, Susan Warner, “Fighting Off the Chains”, in New York Times, retrieved 10 Sep 2012:

Forms

Synonyms

calm down · chill · chill out · cool off · hold one's horses · settle down · cool one's jets